Netflix’s latest offering in the teen rom-com genre, Sierra Burgess Is A Loser was a hit and miss in terms of movies that are binge-worthy. Being a fan of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, I was really excited to see it, especially because teen heartthrob Noah Centineo stars in this one, too.
It got my attention all right, but for all the wrong reasons.
The story is a loose retelling of events occurred in the French play, Cyrano de Bergerac but falls flat. Though the movie is not that bad, there are some very problematic and creepy things I can’t seem to shake off. Here’s everything that was really wrong with Sierra Burgess Is A Loser.
Catfishing is excused in the name of love
A case of mistaken identity is a classic rom-com feature but Sierra cat-fishing Jamey takes it to a whole other level. Are we supposed to excuse the fact that Sierra is dong something horrible if its masked by cute texts?
Everything Veronica and Sierra bond over is just wrong
Veronica who is the high school’s resident mean girl, agrees to help Sierra maintain her virtual relationship with Jamey in exchange of Sierra’s tutoring lessons. The more time I spent watching the two girls get bond over Plato and stage lip-synced Skype sessions, the more I felt bad about Jamey being dragged into this elaborate scheme.
Basically the entire kiss scene between Jamey and Sierra
Where do I even begin? Veronica actually goes out on a date with Jamey with Sierra lurking in the background giving out borderline stalker vibes and texting her things she should say to him. Things got creepier when Veronica forced Jamey to close his eyes as Sierra kissed him. If Sierra was a guy doing the same, the question of consent would pop up. But no, apparently this was ‘romantic’.
When Sierra pretends to be deaf so Jamey doesn’t recognize her voice
Things in this movie get worse by the minute as Dan and Sierra bump into Jamey. Instead of facing the situation, she pretends to be deaf so Jamey doesn’t recognize her voice from their phone calls. Jamey, being the sweetheart he is talks to her in sign language and introduces her to his little brother who is actually deaf. Oh, you thought that’s all? No, its not. Sierra actually thought her very unhealthy pretense was actually her and Jamey sharing a special moment.
Sierra sings one song and all is forgiven
In the end, Sierra had officially screwed up her relationship with every single person she knew. For all the mess she made, her attempt at redemption is writing and singing a song about how she did it all to be accepted. She gave Jamey major trust issues, leaked Veronica’s private conversations in front of the whole school and shooed her best friend, Dan away from her life but all is forgiven with one song? I’m not buying what you’re selling me, Sierra.
Despite all the unethical aspects, there’s still plenty wrong with the plot of the film. Like the fact that Dan’s character is just there for Sierra as a shoulder to cry on, Veronica and Sierra ‘bond’ is broken very easily. The deep conversations during which we are supposed to believe that the characters are falling in love are about generic AF topics like sandwiches, stars and animals.
